Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-08-15
TRICKY COMMISSIONER.

The shippers Association Bureau
Established---The Man who is En-
gagged to Manage ft---Object and
Duties.
Another object has been attained by
the Tn-City Shippers association in the
establishment of freight bureau aud
the securing of an experienced, compe-
tent railroad man to take charge of it.
The committee has engaged Fred Wilder,
for years division freight agent of the
Union Pacific, TO take charge of their
bureau, with headquarters at Davenport.
He will have an office in the Der Demokrat
building, on west Third street. His
duties will be the same as that of the
manager of the Chicago freight bureau
and they are very important to the CONS
mercial interest of the three cities.
Before the passage of the Interstate
commerce bill, every jobber, manufac>
turer and shipper in the Tri-City Ship
pers' association, believed he was a little
smarter than any of his business neigh,
bors, and could get railroad favors in the
way of reductions and rebates that no
body else could There was no concert
of action, no harmony in effort. After
the inter state law went into effect
every merchant and manufacturer
was placed on a level with his
fellows - everybody treated alike.
Things looked blue - the rail-
road rates under the law threatened to
damage the jobbing and manufacturing
interests of the three cities greatly, if not
to crush them entirely. The business
men commenced to consult with each
other-tO get together for consultation
and encouragement Then they ascer-
tanned if they had pulled together in the
days of the old tariff they could have
secured rates and advantages far superior
to anythiI in the line any one of them
ever obtained as special favor. Pro
rata rates from the eastern seaboard
were among these advantages-som
thing they had begged, cried for in a
puny way, for years and years. The
railroads receive a revenue of So, OOO, 900
annually from the business men of these
three cities. who hadn't any idea that the
amount was so large previous to the
month of April this year; and no sooner
did the fact come to their knowledge
than its corrollary struck them-com~
bined they were a rowerl They did com.
hine. and the freight bureau with Mr.. |
Wilder at its head is the result.
MIR. Wilder was the general freight
agent of the old Western Union company
for years, and after its consolidation
with the c., M. & St P he was division
freight agent for ten years lie has
been al the head of freight bureau of
the U. P. a long time.
His work for the freight bureau of the |
Tri-City Shippers association will cons
prise close scrutiny of the different
freight schedules. the ascertaining of
their advantages and disadvantages to |
the commerce of the three cities; the ass
sertion of the rights of the association
where wrong is prscticed ignorantly or |
wilfully. and the Selling of all opportu,
mites that he discovers for the advantage |
of the commerce of this locality. Meet |
ings OF committees or of the association |
will be called at his suggestion
There is no doubt that the establish |
ment OF this bureau is splendid moves |
ment. Such a bureau has been of i'm
meuse advantage to such places as PEG
ria, indianapolis, Milwaukee, st. Paul, |
Minneapolis, Kansas City, as well as the |
great commercial centers, and there is no |
reason why it should not prove equally |
efficacious for these three cities which |
have an aggregate population of 1000 |
to 10000 people, with the largest COM
merclal and manufacturing interests in |
the upper Mississippi valley between St |
Louis and St Paul.